"What are you doing? Let me go!" The farm girl, who had been enjoying the play, was suddenly grabbed and struggled in terror.
Upon hearing the voice, Fang Ruotang looked down at her, her large eyes filled with disgust.
"Hmph! Shameless, hypocritical, and you want to bully my cousin's wife? You'll have to see if I allow it."
Fang Ruotang's upbringing meant she didn't care about men taking concubines; after all, which of her uncles didn't have one, two, or three concubines?
But she was protective of her own and couldn't accept that her eldest cousin-in-law, who had always been kind to her, had all met with bad ends.
She didn't care if her older cousin took a concubine, but it was wrong for him to favor his concubine over his wife.
"Grand Preceptor, you must have misunderstood. I don't know your cousin's wife! I'm just an ordinary commoner, how could I possibly know such noble people as you?" The woman's eyes flickered as she pleaded for mercy.
"Hmph! Shu Mingcheng is my cousin!" Fang Ruotang scolded unhappily, "Gag her and take her to the Shu residence."
Then, a large group of people headed towards the Shu residence.
The onlookers, like escorting guards, followed on both sides, pointing and gossiping about the farm girl all the way.
They didn't really know what had happened, but for the lovely Imperial Preceptor Yuxue to get so angry, she must have done something that was outrageous to both gods and men.
The common people's thinking was very simple: if they supported the Grand Preceptor, they would support everything about her. They didn't just point fingers at the peasant girl; some even threw vegetable leaves at her.
Fang Ruotang didn't think this was a bad thing. People she didn't like, so the people around her should also not like them. Otherwise, it would be a betrayal of her, showing no love or protection for her.
In any case, she cannot accept someone she likes making friends with someone she dislikes.
By the time she arrived at the Shu residence, the peasant girl was already quite disheveled, looking weak and helpless. However, since the common people were out in town carrying the best vegetables from their homes, they wouldn't get her dirty if they were thrown at her; instead, they made her appear even more pitiful.
Fang Ruotang turned her head and swaggered into the Shu residence. When the gatekeeper saw her, someone went in to announce her arrival, while others greeted her with smiles.
"Miss Cousin has arrived. Please come into the manor. I will send someone to invite the old lady and the others to the main hall immediately."
The gatekeeper was perceptive; in the past, given Fang Ruotang's junior status, it was naturally Fang Ruotang who went to pay her respects.
But this time they came with great force, followed by the Crown Prince and his entourage, so something extraordinary must have happened.
"No need to trouble your grandmother. Just ask your aunt and cousin-in-law to come over. I have something to tell them."
"OK."
The gatekeeper then sent someone to the backyard to deliver a message.
When Fang Ruotang arrived at the main hall, maids had already served fruit, melons, tea, and snacks. The Crown Prince pinched her puffed-up little face.
"Don't be upset. If you really don't like it, just kill him."
Huo Zhige roughly brushed the Crown Prince's hand away, turned Fang Ruotang around, and gently wiped the spot where the Crown Prince had just touched her.
"Is something so trivial worth getting so worked up about? The Crown Prince isn't a very good person. He wasn't wrong about what he said earlier. Just kill him."
Even at this moment, Huo Zhige did not forget to kick the crown prince.
The crown prince was magnanimous; he glanced at him but neither blamed him for stealing people nor paid any attention to his slander.
The peasant girl was forced to kneel on the ground by Tao Hong, her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head in fear.
Fang Ruotang snorted twice and said with dissatisfaction, "You two are so stupid! If I kill her right now, wouldn't she become my cousin's white moonlight, forever standing between my cousin and his wife? I won't give her the chance to be my white moonlight."
Fearing that the two might not know what a "white moonlight" was, Fang Ruotang specially explained it to them.
The Crown Prince and Huo Zhige instantly understood. The Crown Prince raised his hand and patted Fang Ruotang's head, "Our Sixth Sister has become smarter again!"
Fang Ruotang raised her little face and said proudly, "Right! Right! I also think I've become smarter, hehehe!"
The storybook that Xiao Jingzi showed her was full of such plots. She was confused when she read them, but she just couldn't forget them!
I later asked my sisters and they told me that this is what they call "familiarity breeds contempt"—once something becomes readily available, it's just like that.
It is because we cannot obtain something that our memories constantly idealize us, making our feelings grow stronger.
Huo Zhige, a man capable of becoming a general, could not possibly be a brainless brute.
He observed the Crown Prince's words and actions thoughtfully, his eyes gradually narrowing, as if something flashed through his mind and he was about to grasp it when Madam Shu and her eldest daughter-in-law arrived together.
Although the two were dressed appropriately, it was clear that they hadn't made any special effort to dress up, and they came over in a hurry.
"The gatekeeper said you came over looking unhappy. What's wrong? Did someone bully you?"
Madam Shu affectionately pulled Fang Ruotang aside, and seeing that she was indeed sulking, she began to ponder the matter.
Who on earth was so blind as to bully Xiao Liu? Out of the corner of my eye, I also caught a glimpse of the woman being held captive in the corner.
Then, recalling what the gatekeeper had said, he glanced discreetly at his eldest daughter-in-law, who was fawning over Xiao Liu.
"Aunt, let me tell you, my cousin is so wicked! He's been keeping a mistress on the side, and I found out! I've brought her here for you!" Fang Ruotang huffed coquettishly, pointing at the terrified peasant girl in the corner.
Then she complained to her eldest cousin's wife: "Don't underestimate this woman. She's wicked. She deliberately backed down and got into an ambiguous relationship with my eldest cousin, making it clear that she wouldn't become a concubine in our Shu family. But after she got pregnant, she disappeared again. Three years later, she came back with twins and eventually forced you to your death so that she could become a concubine."
The eldest cousin's wife's expression changed, and her gaze towards the peasant girl was not filled with hatred, but rather with probing.
She wanted to know what kind of woman could seduce her husband into disregarding propriety and the long-standing friendship between the Shu and Wei families.
Lady Wei was a woman raised according to the rules for the principal wife in this generation. She did not demand that her husband be devoted to her, but she cared about her status and rights as the principal wife, which she would not allow to be challenged by others.
Madam Shu felt a sense of relief; the problem indeed lay with her eldest son.
She instructed the old woman beside her, "Go and call the young master back."
No sooner had Madam Shu finished speaking than Shu Mingcheng's cheerful voice rang out from the doorway.
"If Xiao Liu wanted to see me, he could have just sent someone to fetch me. Why did you come all the way here in person? Are you missing your older cousin?"
Shu Mingcheng and Fang Ruotang are about ten years apart in age. They don't have any strict gender distinctions with this younger cousin and always talk to each other intimately.
Fang Ruotang walked quickly to Shu Mingcheng, crossed her arms, and glared at him angrily with her little face upturned.
"Big cousin, you've disappointed me so much."
Shu Mingcheng was taken aback. He looked at his mother and wife and saw that both of them looked terrible and confused.
"What's wrong? Did your older cousin do something wrong and make Xiao Liu angry? Talk to your older cousin and he'll definitely change, okay? You're not feeling well, so don't be angry."
Shu Mingcheng immediately softened his stance, bending down to gently coax her, while also giving his wife a meaningful look, asking her to speak on his behalf.
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